The next few days were a blur for Adelyn. She had never imagined she would end up racing through the woods with a bunch of sophomores in order to get away from a crazed classmate. She couldn’t believe what her life had become, what the lives of everyone in Highest Peak had become, or unbecome. The ill-fated virus couldn’t have struck a worse town, secluded high up in the mountains. And the problem with this virus was that quarantining was no help. There were next to no solutions, and if any did exist, no one had found them yet. It was hard on everyone, and Adelyn wondered if the town might not come back from this blow.

    The biggest worry for her, though, was her little sister. Memoir had completely shut down in the face of Stellan’s passing. Adelyn didn’t blame her, what with everything she had gone through. She had been spending all her time in the basement, and the one time Adelyn had gone down to check on her, the door was locked and Memoir wouldn’t let her in. She figured she just needed some alone time, but she was beginning to fear for her health. 

    At least she won’t get Tagged, locked up in the basement, Adelyn thought desperately. When the girls went to school that day, Memoir wouldn’t talk to anyone, even Elena, her one solace. Adelyn felt helpless. She knew her mother wouldn’t care, would probably get angry at how she was acting, and her father was too scared of her mother to do anything about it. And so the parenting was left to her. Not that she knew what she was doing, she was only a year and a half older. But she was all Memoir had.

    Adelyn cycled through these thoughts as she walked to class at the back of the school. First period was English, and easy subject for her, and so she allowed herself to doze off and brainstorm how she could help her sister. 

    “Miss Koonthras?” asked Mr. Downs. Adelyn discreetly came back to her senses and quickly answered the question on the board. He nodded approvingly and called on another student to explain her reasoning.

    “How did you do that?” Riley, one of her closest friends, whispered. 

    “What?” Adelyn asked.

    “Space out without getting caught!” xe answered. Adelyn let out a quick but silent laugh, and shook her head.

    “I’m just magical like that.”

    Riley rolled xer eyes with endearment. “Sure, sure. Remind me how many times you’ve gotten Brooklyn to smile?”

    Adelyn put a hand over her heart in mock offense, and then straightened up before Mr. Downs lectured them. Xe did the same, still shooting quick glances over at Adelyn, who tried not to laugh. She opened up her computer as Mr. Downs instructed, and immediately clicked into the document which she and Riley shared.

    Hey, she typed, still looking up at the board in an effort to not look suspicious.

    What’s up, xe replied.

    The two chatted as usual for quite some time, simultaneously switching to the document they had been assigned when there were new questions to be answered. They teased each other, mocked each other, the usual banter. It was a nice, lighthearted break from the constant heaviness surrounding Adelyn’s life.

    Riley then spammed the document with a string of words not appropriate to repeat. Adelyn blew up her cheeks and tried to stay calm, but it was too much. She burst out into laughter in the middle of class. Mr. Downs paused his pacing right in front of her desk and she looked up in terror, doing everything she could to push down her laughter, while Riley stared at her in disbelief. Mr. Downs made eye contact and didn’t move. The death stare was enough to make Adelyn quickly calm herself down, her cheeks burning red. Mr. Downs moved on, not saying a word, not even reprimanding her. She exchanged glances with Riley, and xe widened xer eyes at her with a grin on xer face.

    “Why?” she mouthed and xe shrugged and turned back to xer computer. She followed suit, virtually yelling at her friend for a few minutes, but it was all in good fun. That is, until the conversation turned serious. 

    How’s Memoir? With Stellan getting Tagged and all?  Riley asked. Adelyn brought the computer screen closer to her and lowered the brightness as Mr. Downs made his way around the room, his strict gaze lingering on Adelyn just a bit longer than anyone else. Riley was the only person who knew how Adelyn had had to step into parenting, and xe were always willing to listen. That was what Adelyn loved about xem.

    I  honestly don’t know what to do. She’s completely shut down. I may talk to Elena and see if she can get through to her.

    That’s a good idea, just be careful, xe said, and shut xer computer, having also finished the online worksheet.

    Adelyn sighed and went back to work.

    Later that day, after school let out, she sought out Elena, who was walking with Evan, the two having made up from their fight.

    “Elena, can I steal you for a second?” she requested, and Elena turned towards her, waving to Evan. She walked off with Adelyn, twirling a piece of curly hair around her finger. Adelyn led her along the front wall of the school, where anyone getting picked up by car waited. She faced the wall so as to have less chance of people hearing them, and Elena followed suit.

    “It’s about Memoir.” Elena nodded with understanding.

    “What’s up?”

    “She’s having a really hard time with Stellan. I know you are too, and so am I. She’s not talking to anyone, even me. Can you see if you can get through to her? I know I kind of made you be her friend, and I’m sorry if that puts more pressure on you. Just… if you can,” Adelyn explained.

    “I can do that. And you didn’t make me. I chose to,” Elena replied, a serious look in her brown eyes. She fidgeted with the excess strap on her backpack, rolling it up and then unrolling it. Adelyn shifted from foot to foot, not wanting to make things awkward by pointing out that Elena had never approached Memoir before she had been asked to, but she decided to give Elena the benefit of the doubt by reasoning that Memoir never talked to anyone anyway, and may have just been overlooked.

    “Good. Thank you,” she said with a soft smile, and gestured towards the bus, where Evan and Yamilia were standing. “I think they’re waiting for us. Where’s Memoir, though?”

    “She must have gotten on already,” Elena guessed. A quiet voice piped up from behind them

    “I’m right here, and I heard everything.” There was a new confidence to Memoir’s voice, one that made it almost unrecognizable, but Adelyn and Elena turned around regardless. Memoir’s face held the most betrayal either of them had ever seen, and the hurt in her eyes was beyond devastating. She looked Elena straight in the eyes. “I thought, for once, I had made a real friend.” She walked away without another glance. Adelyn watched as her small figure got smaller, and she turned right out of the school parking lot. 

    She can’t walk home on her own, she thought, and sprinted after, leaving Elena to get on the bus with her friends.

    “Memoir! Memoir!” she called. Memoir gave no reaction, and kept walking. Adelyn finally caught up to her, and put a hand on her shoulder. Memoir promptly shook her away.

    “Don’t touch me,” she warned gravely, and turned away, speeding up. Adelyn did the same, not willing to let her shut her out again.

    “We have to get to the bus. It’s going to leave.”

    “No, you have to get to the bus. I’m walking home. I don’t sit with fake friends,” she retorted, crossing her arms and looking ahead. If there had been other people nearby, Adelyn wouldn’t have known she was talking to her.

    “They aren’t fake,” Adelyn said.

    “Then explain your conversation with Elena just now. You can’t? Right. Because it was all fake.”

    “I was trying to help you! You had trouble making friends on your own, so I asked Elena if she might include you. She did, and you guys became friends, along with everyone else in her group, who, by the way, knew nothing about it. So I think ‘fake friends’ is a just a little bit of an exaggeration,” Adelyn explained, her volume rising with every word. 

    “Yeah? Well I don’t need you to make me friends. I don’t need your help. I’ve done just fine my whole life on my own, so you can screw off!” Memoir yelled. There was a flash of fear in her eyes when she realized what she had said, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by a new resolve. 

    “No.”

    Memoir ignored her, instead walking faster as buses and cars passed beside her. Adelyn did her best to keep pace. It wasn’t hard, given how frail Memoir was, courtesy of their mother.

    “Stop following me!” Memoir exclaimed after a few minutes.

    Adelyn paused. “We live in the same place. Or do you just expect me to jump on a moving car and hope they’re going the same way?”

    Memoir sighed loudly and kept walking, making sure to stay ahead of her older sister. When the two got home, they went their separate ways, one to the basement and the other to her room. Adelyn was immediately filled with regret, and wished she had found a better way to help Memoir.

A/N: ytravassos Human3121 Thanks for the scene inspo, guys ;)